Vending machine



May 5, 1959 c. L. CASEY ET AL 2,885,051

VENDING MACHINE Filed April 30; 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 i IINVENTORS:

CHARLES L. CASEY JUDDSON B. RYNO y 1959 c. L. CASEY EI'AL 2,885,051

' VENDING MACHINE Filed April 30, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS: CHARLES LCASEY JUDDSON B. RYNO y 1959 c. L. CASEY ETAL 2,885,051

, VENDING MACHINE Filed April 30. 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 VA (-IIIIIII mmaluugu ul gg INVENTORS: CHARLES L. CASEY e3 57 e2 JUDDSON B. RYNO y 1959 c. CASEY ETAL 2,885,051

VENDING MACHINE Y Filed April 50. 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet; 4

CHARLES L. CASEY BYJUDDSON a. RYNOY ATT'YS y 1959 c. L. CASEY ETAL 2,885,051

VENDING MACHINE Filed April 30, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheef 5 FIG-J4 88 v ,y @4 f I HI I s 95 97 85 INVENTORS: CHARLES L. CASEY Y JUDDSON B. RYNO ATT'YS United States Patent VENDING MACHINE Charles L. Casey, Riverside, and Juddson B. Ryno, Chicago, IlL, assignors to Reliable Engineering Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application April 30, 1953, Serial No. 352,116

3 Claims. (Cl. 194-71) This invention relates in general to vending machines and more particularly to a machine for dispensing flexibly wrapped soft goods. The machine is capable of housing and dispensing soft goods, such as catamenial bandages wrapped in paper, upon tender of a coin by the purchaser to the coin slot of the machine and appropriate manipulation of the operating handle of the machine.

Vending machines as heretofore known have not successfully coped with the problems of automatically dispensing paper wrapped soft goods. The vending machine comprising this invention, however, enables automatic vending of elongated soft goods that are flexibly wrapped, such as catamenial bandages. The machine is of simple construction and yet insures delivery of the merchandise and eliminates the common problem of a non-operative vending machine due to jamming of merchandise within the machine. The machine is constructed so asto guard the merchandise against tampering and is so designed that only one package unit is delivered when appropriately coin operated. In addition, the machine is capable of delivering a large quantity of soft wrapped soft goods units since more machine storage or loading space is available in eliminating the use of relatively inflexible packaging materials, such as are employed in boxed items.

The vending machine that comprises this invention is characterized by an attractive housing having a magazine or a space therein for the arrangement of a quantity of items to be dispensed. The items are gravity fed successively to a dispensing platform as a dispensed item is removed therefrom. The dispensed items are delivered to the operator of the machine upon tender of the purchase price of the item to the coin slot of the machine and manipulation of a handle afiixed to the dispensing platform. The coin assumes an important part in the operation of the machine in providing a protuberance that serves to release a lock mechanism over which the platform carrying the dispensed item rides in the delivery of the merchandise. Such movement of the platform releases a guard arrangement that in a non-operative position prevents tampering with the contents of the machine and that also serves to bring into operation a merchandise guard insuring delivery of only one merchandise unit. Upon delivery of the merchandise item, the platform automatically returns to its initial position and another merchandise item is deposited thereon for successive dispensement.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a vending machine designed to overcome the economic disadvantages arising out of vending machines incapable of dispensing flexibly wrapped soft goods.

Another object of the invention is to provide a vending machine wherein a coin inserted in the coin slot of the machine is an inherent part of the machine dispensing operation prior to deposit of the coin in a collecting container found in the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flex- Patented May 5, 1959,

ibly wrapped soft goods vending machine that is of simple construction insuring unitary merchandise delivery.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in a vending machine means to deliver a paper wrapped soft goods item wherein the items housed in the machine are protected against tampering and additional protective means serving to prevent multiple delivery.

Still another and more specific object of the invention is to provide in a vending machine a dispensing platform that rides over the coin used for the purchase of a catamenial bandage as the platform is drawn toward the machine operator thereby to actuate a series of interoperative levers that raise a merchandise tamper guard and bring into operation a merchandise unit guard, and,

wherein the platform is returned to its initial supporting position with a merchandise unit mounted thereon for a successive delivery operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the top front and right sides of the machine looking from the operators stance;

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the top front and left sides of the machine containing merchandise looking from the operator's stance with the hingedly mounted cover or casing open;

Fig. 3 is another detail perspective view of the machine when empty showing the merchandise flexible guard and also the coin guard or empty lock;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the lower portion of the machine showing a merchandise item in process of delivery and the coin-receiving tray partly removed from the machine housing;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the merchandise supporting platform of the machine;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the levers actuated by the merchandise supporting platform which operate a tamper guard and a unit guard as taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the under portion of the merchandise supporting platform with parts broken away for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view taken along the plane of line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view taken along the plane of line 99 of Fig. 7; I

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the platform lever arrangement showing the tamper guard, unit guard and the platform in a non-dispensing posiw tion;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary end elevational view similar to Fig. 10 presenting the lever arrangement and the operative arrangement that the levers assume in the course of delivery of, but prior to, the dispensing of a merchandise item;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary end elevational view similar to Fig. 10 but showing the position of the platform and the parts actuated thereby as an item is dispensed;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary detail perspective view of a portion of the merchandise guard structure; a

Fig. 14 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the coin receiving apparatus showing the relationship of the coin to the coin receiving mechanism prior to merchandise delivery;

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 14 but showing the function of the coin in the course of delivery of a merchandise item; and I Fig. 16 is a fragmentary top perspective view of the aeanosl p f h coin receiving mechanism with parts broken away for the sake of clarity.

The vending machine is comprised of an attractive casing 1 comprised of a back portion 2 and a cover 3. The cover is hingedly mounted at 4 to the bottom 5 of the housing. The cover 3 is preferably, though not necessarily, of one-piece construction as shown, having a top 6, sides 7 and 8 and a front 9. The front 9 has an opening 9a therein that receives and circumscribes the merchandisc receiving lip 10 formed integral with the panel 11 which has mounted thereon the handle 12. The front 9 of the cover also has an opening 13 for coin insertion, and a lock mechanism 14 is provided in the top 6 of the cover.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the machine is comprised of a merchandise housing or magazine 15 having a top portion 16 and sides 17 and 18 the forward edges of which extend inwardly to define, respectively, flanges 19 and 20. A lip 21 extends downwardly from the top 16 for cooperation with the lock 14. The back of the housing 2 carries two merchandise positioning flanges 22 and 23 that are L-shaped in cross-section, each having respectively a short leg 24 and a front leg '25 that lie at right angles to each other. The leg 24 is secured to the back 2. The top 6 of the cover, the top 16 of the housing, together with the sides 17 and 18 and the flanges 19 and 20, form a magazine to house merchandise items a.

The items are supported by the merchandise support platform 26. It may be noted also that the top 16 of the housing extends only partially across the top of the magazine, thereby providing an opening in the top to facilitate loading.

The merchandise support platform andpusher The support platform 26 is generally rectangular, (see Fig. 5), having a top shelf 27, ends 28 and 29, a front side 30 and a rear side 31 (Fig. 7). The front side 30 supports the panel 11 and the receiving lip 10 that, for esthetic qualities, may be constructed of a metal finished in chrome.

The top shelf 27 of the merchandise supporting platform 26 carries a sliding member or pusher 36. The shelf 27 also has therein a center opening 33 which extends rearwardly to the edge thereof and then downwardly through the rear side 31 as at 33a, and a coin mechanism slot 34 adjacent the support side 29. The pusher 36 projects upwardly at its rear edge to form a pusher extension 32 that is substantially L-shaped in cross-section, being comprised of a vertical leg 37 and a horizontal leg 38 (Figs. 5 and 9). The positioning flanges 22 and 23 are each recessed adjacent their lower ends to accommodate the pusher 36 and its extension 32 in its dispensing operation, one such recess being shown at 39 in flange 23 (Fig. 3).

A plate 40 located immediately below shelf 27 and movably mounted at the underside thereof covers opening 33 in the non-operative position of the pusher 36. The plate 40 extends upwardly at its rearmost edge to form a flange 41 that is secured to the back portion of the vertical leg 37 of the pusher 36 (Fig. 9). Thus, a movement of the plate 40 also serves to move the pusher member 36. In operation of the machine, the pusher extension 32 of the pusher 36, upon a forward movement of the pusher, serves to thrust an item to be dispensed forwardly to the merchandise receiving lip 10. The pusher is brought forward by actuation of the knob or handle 12 affixed to the rod 42 that extends through the panel 11 and the front side 30 of the merchandise platform.

The arrangement of the plate 40, the flange 41, and the slide and pusher is clearly depicted in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. Two supporting brackets 43 and 44 are secured. to the under portion of shelf 27 of the merchandise platform and extend along opposite edges of the opening 33. Each of the brackets 43 and 44 is crimped along the length thereof to form, respectively, shelf portions 45 and 46 that are spaced downwardly from the under side of the shelf 27 of the platform 26. The shelf portions 45 and 46 have their inner longitudinal edge portions bent downwardly to form the depending lips 47 and 48. Secured to the under portion of plate is a substantially U-shaped member 49 having downwardly depending legs 50 and 51 on opposite sides thereof. The recesses defined by the shelf portion 46 and the under side of shelf 27 on one side and the shelf portion 47 and the under side of shelf 27 on the other side form guideways to guide the sliding movement of plate 40 and its connected member 49. The opposed side edges 52 and 53 (Fig. 9) of plate 40 are received in these guideways and are slidably supported by the shelves and 46. The lips 47 and 48 of the shelves 45 and 46 define a channel 54 and also aid in guiding the member 49 in its sliding movement so that the arms and 51 of the member 49 are guided within the channel 54, and slidably engage the lips 47 and 48.

Secured to the under portion of the member 49 is a bracket 55 having a downwardly depending flange 56 with an aperture 57 therein that receives the rod 42 (Fig. 8). The rod has an aperture 58 adapted to receive a cotter pin 59 at one side of the flange 56 and aperture 60 adapted to receive a portion of the spring 61 at the other side of the flange. The spring 61 at its opposite end is received in an opening 62 in the rear side 31 of the merchandise platform 26. The description of the rod and its attachment to the bracket 55 and the relationship of the plate 40 to the brackets 43 and 44 and the U-shaped member 49 indicates that as the handle 12 is drawn forwardly in a dispensing operation, the slide portions 52 and 53 of the plate 40 ride on the shelves 45 and 46 of the brackets 43 and 44. The pusher 36 is limited in its forward movement by flange 41 of plate 40 striking against the forward edge of opening 33. Upon forward movement of the rod a tension is exerted upon the spring 61 that tends to return the pusher to its non-dispensing position.

Pusher control mechanism Provision is made to prevent the return of the, pusher 36 prior to a complete forward or dispensing movement of the pusher as determined by withdrawal of the handle 12 and the rod 42. Such provision is important since only by such complete reciprocation of the pusher 36 can delivery of the merchandise item be assured. Inadvertent release of the handle 12 by the operator before the article has been dispensed is of no consequence in light of the pusher control mechanism now to be described.

A pivot pin 64 is supported in the arm 50 of member 49 and has pivotally mounted thereon a pawl element 63 (Fig. 8). In a non-dispensing position the end of pawl 63 lies within the recess 65 of the shelf 45. Formed in the lip 47 of the shelf 45 is a ratchet 66, designed to be engaged by the pawl. As the pusher 36 and parts connected therewith are drawn forwardly, the pawl is caused to override the teeth of ratchet 66. Should the forward movement of pusher 36 stop prior to completion thereof, the pawl 63 will engage the teeth of the ratchet 66 as shown in dotted lines at 67, so as to prevent the return of the pusher 36 to its non-operative position until the pusher has completed its dispensing function. The length of the ratchet 66 is so designed that the pawl 63 will become free and permit the pusher 36 to be returned after it has completed the dispensing function. Upon delivery of the merchandise item the pusher will have advanced sufficiently so that the pawl 63 will drop within the forward recess 68 of the shelf 45, as shown at 68a and will override the teeth upon return of the pusher and the parts associated therewith (plate 40, U-shaped member 49, etc.) to the nan-operative position shown at 69 of Fig. 8. In this position the pawl abuts the rear edge 70 of recess 65 located in the lip 45. Upon completion of the forward movement of the pusher 36 the pawl 63 is caused to rotate in a counterclockwise direction from its position shown at 67 to the position shown at 68, as viewed in Fig. 8, by means of the spring 71 attached at one end to the pawl at 72 and at the other end to a pin 73 on the arm 50. As can be seen, the pawl arrangement is such that it is urged forwardly by the spring 71 so as to be drawn into the teeth of the ratchet 66 as the arm upon which it is mounted approaches the ratchet, thereby to retain the pusher in various and successive delivery stages. Whcn the pawl 63 has dropped into the forward recess 68 of the lip 45, the location of which coincides with completed delivery of the merchandise, tension upon the spring 61 serves to return the pusher to a non-operative position. The pawl 63 does not impede such return, but merely over-rides the ratchet until it asumes the non-operative position depicted at 69.

The coin slot mechanism The coin used for the purchase of an item dispensed by the vending machine assumes an important function in the operation of the machine. When the coin C is deposited in the cover slot 13 it is received by a coin chute mechanism 73. The coin chute mechanism is elongated and hollow, having a downwardly disposed arm 74 formed as a continuation of a vertical arm 75. It is positioned upon the side 18 of the merchandise housing by means of the coin chute support 76 secured to the side 18. A flange 77 substantially circumscribes the coin chute 73 to define the coin slot 78 that is continuous with respect to the arms 74 and 75 of the coin chute. The coin chute support 76 is bent back upon itself at either side as at 79 and S0 to form a pair of slots 81 and 82 adapted to receive the flange 77. The coin C is initially received by the upper end of the arm 74 of the coin chute which is flanged outwardly as at 83, the point of coin reception. A series of elongated openings 84 in the arms 74 and 75 of the coin chute permit access to the slot 78 in the event a coin should become lodged within that area for any reason. The coin C passes through the slot 78 into the recess 34 where it comes to rest upon the arm 85 and the pin 86, said pin being positioned upon the coin lever 37 (Figs. 7, 14, 15 and 16). An L-shaped member 38, secured to the bottom side of the merchandise platform shelf 27, extends downwardly in the plane of the inner edge of the slot 34 in the platform to define a surface that serves as a guide while the coin is in position upon the arm 85 and the pin 86.

While the coin is so positioned it lies partially above the platform coin mechanism slot 34 and in the path of the forward movement imparted to the pusher 36 in its delivery operation. The reinforced end 89 of the pusher, in advancing during the course of delivery of a merchandise item, as indicated by the directional arrow 90 (Fig. 15), contacts the edge of the coin, thus directing a downward force upon the arm 85 and the pin 86 positioned upon the coin lever 87 that is pivotally mounted as at 91. The downward force imparted to the pin and arm by the reinforced end 89 effects a downward movement of the coin lever 87 as it pivots upon the pivot point 91 as illustrated in Fig. 15. When the coin lever 87 has moved downwardly a short distance, continued forward movement of the end portion 89 of the pusher will impart a forward rotational movement to the coin about the pin 86 of the coin lever until the coin drops by gravity into the coin box 100 positioned within the recess 101 formed in the side 29 of the merchandise platform.

The advanced positions of the coin are indicated in dotted lines at C1 and C2 of Fig. 15. The coin lever 87 has formed thereon an upwardly extending projection 102 (Figs. 14, 15 and 16) which normally acts as a stop in the absence of a coin. When the pusher 36 is moved forwardly from the nonoperative position thereof and no coin has been deposited, the pusher movement will be limited by the end 89 thereof coming against the stop 102. The downward movement of the coin lever 87 when a coin is present serves to remove the upward projection 102 from the path of movement of the pusher 36, thus permitting continued advancement of the pusher and delivery of an article through the merchandise delivery slot 103.

The coin lever 87 has disposed thereon at its rearmost portions a hook 92 adapted to receive one end of a spring 93. The spring 93 is secured at its other end to a hook 94 on the side 29 of the merchandise platform and serves to rotate the lever 87 back to its normal position after the coin has been deposited in the coin-box 100. An adjusting arm 95, having a slot 96 therein, is mounted on the coin lever 87, by means such as the machine screws 97. These screws extend through the slot 96 and are received by threaded openings in the coin lever 87. Such adjustable means permits the employment of various sized coins dependent upon the predetermined denomination that corresponds to the price of the merchandise items dispensed by the machine. The adjusting arm is bent forwardly to form the arm 85 upon which the coin comes to rest after it has traversed the coin chute.

Presale merchandise protective mechanism The merchandise items are delivered through a slot 103 (Fig. 1), the lower edge of which is formed by the top shelf 27 of the merchandise platform and the merchandise receiving lip 10 that lies in the same plane as the said shelf, and the top edge of which is formed by top edge of the opening 9a in the front 9 of the cover 3. In a non-operative position the merchandise is concealed by a guard 104 so as to prevent deliberate tampering with the contents a of the magazine as well as ingress of dust and the like that might impair the appearance of the merchandise. As the pusher 36 is advanced forwardly by withdrawal of the handle 12 secured to rod 42, the tamper guard 104 is raised forwardly while the pivotally mounted stack support 105 (Figs. 2, 4, 10, 11 and 12) rotates rearwardly beneath and supports the next to the lowermost item housed within the magazine. Simultaneously, a rear stack support 106 comprised of spring metal is permitted to advance forwardly. The front and rear stack supports 105 and 106 cooperate to support the stack of merchandise items while the lowermost item is being withdrawn from the stack. The support 106 normally lies substantially parallel to the stack of merchandise items a and rearwardly of a plane passing through the flanges 22 and 23, and is secured at its upper end to the back 2 of the housing. The support 106 is urged rearwardly at its lower end toward the wall 2 by the pusher portion 32 and is forcibly directed to its non-operative parallel position by the return of the pusher to its inoperative position. The forward movement of the rear stack support 106 to aid in supporting the stack during delivery of the lowermost item is effected by the spring metal properties of the support 106 causing it to advance at its lower end in the direction of the pusher in its forward or delivery movement. Consequently, reciprocation of the pusher also serves to oscillate the support 106, the lower end of the support corresponding to the movement of the pusher 36.

The tamper guard 104 is pivotally mounted at 107 upon the L-shaped bar 108 (Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 12) secured at either end to the housing flanges 19 and 20. As a merchandise unit is directed through the slot 103 the flange guard 104 is raised upwardly by a cam device shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, and which will be described in more detail hereinafter. A tab 109 is secured to the guard 104 at a point on the guard below its hinge 107 and intermediate the ends thereof. The tab 109 extends upwardly and forwardly and terminates at a point above the hinge 107 and forwardly of the front stack support 105. Thus, when the guard 104 is rotated on its pivot in a forward direction, the tab will move rearwardly against the stack support 105 to rotate said support rearwardly on its axis 105a journaled for rotation in bearing members 106a. This .rearward movement of the stack support 105 cooperates with the rear stack support 106 to support the stack during delivery of the lowermost item therein.

.After delivery of such item the pusher is drawn back by the spring 61 aforedescribed, while stack supports 106 and 105 return to their respective non-operative positions, permitting another merchandise item to drop by gravity means upon the top shelf 27 of the merchandise platform and within the path of the pusher 36 and its pusher portion 32 so that successive items may consequently be dispensed.

The guard actuating mechanism The tamper guard 104 is held in its guard or closed position, that is, non-operative, by an arm 1110 (Figs. and 6) that is a right angle extension of the lever 111 and extends across a portion of and in front of the guard. A metal bracket 112 is secured to guard 104 preventing the jimmying of the arm 110 and the guard 104. The pusher 36 is turned upwardly at its end to form a flange 114 (Fig. 5) that lies adjacent to the side wall 17 of the merchandise magazine 15. Extending outwardly from the flange 114 is a bar 115 (Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6 and to 12) that, in a position of rest, or non-operative position, lies beneath the lever 116 and within a curved, open-ended slot 117 in the lever 111. The lever 111 pivots at 118 on a bracket 19 positioned upon the end 28 of the platform 26. Lever 116 is also pivotally mounted upon the bracket 119 as at 120. The bar 115, upon movement of the pusher 36, slidably engages the upper curved edge portion 121 of the slot 117 serving to gradually raise the lever until the lower edge portion 122 is reached by the bar. As the bar 115 continues to move forwardly it engages a cam or curved member 123 that .has an armate rear edge portion 125 and which is bent at right angles to form an arm 124 that is secured to the guard 104 (Fig. 13). The forward movement of the bar 115 is directed upon the cam edge 125 of the earn 1213 serving to thrust the free end 126 of the curved member downwardly and forwardly while the upper portion 127 rides under the bar 115, thus rotating the member in a counterclockwise direction. Since the curved member 123 is secured to the tamper guard 104, the forward movement of the pusher and the bar 115 serves to elevate the guard 104 by pivoting this guard at its point of pivot 107.

Lever 116 has a projection 129 extending downwardly from its lower edge and is formed at its rear edge by the arcuate portion 128. The projection 129 has an upwardly extending forward edge portion which joins the underside 130 of the lever 116. The forward edge of lever 116 is provided with an inwardly extending flange 131 which extends over and rides upon the arcuate cam edge of the cam member 123.

.During the delivery of the mechandise item the guard 104 will become elevated to the position thereof illustrated in Fig. 12. During this movement of the guard 104 the cam 123 will rotate downwardly and permit the lever 116 to be lowered so that the projection 129 is in the path of rearward movement of bar 115. The item is delivered by an outward movement of the knob 12 and the parts connected therewith. After the knob 12 and delivery mechanism have reached the limit of its forward movement, the item a may be removed by the operator of the machine and upon release of the knob 12 the return movement of the various parts, including bar 115, will allow the cam member 123 and its connected guard member 104 to rotate, whereupon the lever 116 and its projection 129 will be elevated to remove the projection from the path of rearward movement of the bar 115.

A common occurence, however, is to release the nob 12 before the item is completely removed from the machine. In dealing with soft packaged goods of the character disclosed herein there must be some means to prevent the complete return of the delivery mechanism to its inoperative position prior to complete removal of the item. If this were not done, the guard 104 would tend to drop downwardly and wedge the item in the delivery opening, .either preventing its removal or tearing the item in attempting to remove it.

In the present device, when the delivery mechanism is released prior to removal of the item from the machine. the bar 115 will come against the forward edge of projection 129, thus preventing complete return of the mechanism to inoperative position and holding the guard 104 in its open position. As soon as the item has been removed from the machine, the guard 104 will drop downwardly to close the delivery opening causing the cam member 123 to move upwardly and camming the lever 116 to remove the projection 129 from the path of the bar 115. When this occurs the spring 61 will act to return the delivery mechanism to its inoperative position. A bracket 140 secured to the platform wall 28 at one end and to the wall 17 of the housing at the other positions the levers 111 and 116 within close proximity to each other and the parts upon which they operate.

A form of empty lock device 132 is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 which operates to prevent deposit of a coin into the coin slot 13 in the event the magazine is empty. The empty lock device includes a bracket 133 secured to the housing flange 20. The arm 134 of the coin guard is adapted to lie in a vertical plane between merchandise a and the stack support and extends downwardly for a distance within the magazine in front of the stack. This arm terminates short of the top of the bottom merchandise unit supported on the shelf 27 (Fig. 2). The arm 134 is bent angularly at its upper end as at 1340 and is pivotally mounted in the bracket 133. This arm then extends forwardly and again angularly as at 136. When the last merchandise unit in the magazine is deposited on the shelf, the arm swings inwardly of the magazine on its pivotal point, such movement being efiected by means of the weight 135 at the end of the portion 136 lying adjacent the slot 13 of the coin mechanism. The arm 136 consequently is caused to move downwardly to lie across the slot 13 and upon the abutment 137 of the coin guide that limits the downwardmovement of the arm 136 (Figs. 3 and 4). When the slot is thus blocked a coin may not be deposited. Upon refilling the magazine the arm 134 is brought to the position described between the merchandise units and the stack support 105 and the arm 136 is correspondingly moved away from the coin slot opening to a position thereabove so that coins may be received.

In summary of the description of operation of vending machine embodying the present invention, the deposited coin is positioned upon the arm 85 and pin 86 after traveling through the slot 78. Upon withdrawal of the handle 12, the pusher end 89 contacts the coin and forces it downwardly to pivot the coin lever 87 downwardly to remove the projection 102 from the forward path of the pusher end and the pusher member per se. Simultaneously the bar 115 lifts the lever 111 removing the arm from the upward path of the merchandise tamper guard 104. Also, the bar will contact the edge of cam member 123 to rotate it downwardly, whereupon the guard 104 will open and lever 116 will drop downwardly to place the projection 129 in operative position preventing return of the bar 115 and the delivery mechanism until after removal of the delivered item. As the pusher is advanced the pawl 63 beneath the pusher engages the ratchet 51 that serves to prevent return of the pusher 'at any time prior to reaching its fully advanced position as indicated by the position of the pawl 68a (Fig. 8). When the tamper guard 104 is thus raised the extension 109 will move inwardly and swing the front stack support 105 inwardly to cooperate with the rear stack support 106 that has advanced into the magazine and below the stack by the advance of the pusher 36. As the tamper guard 104 is raised the pusher ejects a merchandise unit through the slot 103 to complete the delivery operation. Spring 61 returns the pusher to its initial position after the merchandise unit has been removed from the machine and the various functions described are reversed by that return. The stack is then lowered to deposit another merchandise item upon shelf 27 and upon deposit of another coin, the operations described will arise to successively occur to eject a merchandise item to the machine operator.

Numerous advantages are attained by use of the mech' anism embodying this invention. For example, the dispensing of soft wrapped goods is made possible without damaging either the package or the contents. This is accomplished, first, by supporting the stack out of contact with the item being dispensed so that it is free from any weight thereon, and second, by providing mechanism to prevent closure of the guard over the delivery opening until the item has been completely removed from the machine. Furthermore, the stack remains supported and elevated until the guard closes the delivery opening, thus preventing the next lowermost item from dropping onto the platform while the guard is still elevated. This prevents a customer from holding the guard open after the item has been removed and attempting to remove another item without operating the machine.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of parts from those disclosed herein without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantages thereof, provided, however, that such changes fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A vending machine comprising a magazine adapted to support a stack of flexible articles, an opening in the front panel of said magazine through which the lowermost article in the stack is adapted to pass when being dispensed, means for ejecting the lowermost article forwardly through said opening, guard means pivotally mounted on said front panel and normally closing said opening, means responsive to forward movement of said first named means to rotate said guard means on said front panel away from said opening and permit ejection of the lowermost article, and means to support said stack above the lowermost article during ejection thereof, said last named means comprising a pivotally mounted front support and a yieldable rear support, a tab extending from said guard means and movable upwardly as said guard means moves outwardly to contact said front support and swing said front support inwardly of the magazine, and said yieldable rear support being adapted to move inwardly of the magazine as said first named means is advanced forwardly.

2. A vending machine comprising a magazine adapted to support a stack of flexible articles, an opening in the front of said magazine through which the lowermost article in the stack is adapted to pass when being dispensed, means for ejecting the lowermost article forwardly through said opening, a merchandise tamper guard normally closing said opening, cam means mounted on said guard and responsive to the movement of said first named means to move said merchandise tamper guard away from said opening and permit ejection of the lowermost article, lever means actuated by said cam means to prevent return of said first named means while the lowermost article is incompletely removed, complete removal of said lowermost article permitting said guard to return to closed position, whereby said cam means will move said lever means and permit return of said first named means, and stack supporting means also operable in response to forward movement of said first named means to support said stack above the lowermost article during ejection thereof.

3. A vending machine comprising a magazine adapted to support a stack of flexible articles, an opening in the front panel of said magazine through which the lower most article in the stack is adapted to pass when being dispensed, means for ejecting the lowermost article forwardly through said opening, guard means pivotally mounted on the front panel and normally closing said opening, means to rotate said guard means on said front panel away from said opening and permit ejection of the lowermost article, said last named means including a pivotally mounted lock lever having a portion thereof extending in front of said guard means normally maintaining said guard means in closed position and against rotation, cam means mounted on said guard means at one end thereof operable to move said guard means to open position, and a bar movable with said first named means to actuate said lock lever and cam, and stack supporting means also operable in response to forward movement of said first named means to support said stack above the lowermost article during ejection thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 513,049 McCormick Jan. 16, 1894 513,845 Valentine Jan. 30, 1894 569,775 Vail Oct. 20, 1896 1,050,594 Angell Jan. 14, 1913 1,145,027 Liss July 6, 1915 1,184,153 Weisner May 23, 1916 1,720,588 Cameron July 9, 1929 1,758,390 Curtis May 13, 1930 1,926,847 Giles Sept. 12, 1933 1,934,106 Walker Nov. 7, 1933 1,938,843 Leve Dec. 12, 1933 1,969,170 Erickson Aug. 7, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,259 Great Britain of 1915 27,776 Great Britain of 1913 

